till

English has three main words spelled till: the preposition and conjunction “until”, the verb “to cultivate (land)”, and the noun “money drawer”.^[1][2]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /tɪl/^[3]

till¹ until

Etymology

The preposition is inherited from Middle English til,^[4][1] inherited from Old English til (“to”) in Northumbrian Old English,^[4][1] reinforced by Old Norse til (“to, until”),^[4][1][5] from Proto-Germanic *tilą,^[4] probably the accusative of a lost noun meaning “aim, goal”, preserved in Icelandic tili “scope” and seen in German Ziel “goal”.^[4][1] It is related to the verb till².^[1][4] The conjunction is from the preposition, already in Old English.^[4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The preposition “to”, in Northumbrian Old English: before 800.^[1] The conjunction “until” is in the Peterborough Chronicle in 1137.^[1]

Semantic evolution

Til is a common preposition in the Scandinavian languages, where it does the work of English to, and in English its use spread from the north.^[4][1] “Up to the time of” is from the 14th century.^[5] The sense “to” survives only in Scots and northern English.^[5][6] In English it was largely superseded by the compound until.^[1]

Timeline

• before 800 – preposition, to.^[1]
• 1137 – conjunction, until.^[1]
• c. 1200 – in the Ormulum.^[1]
• 14th century – up to the time of.^[5]

Modern meaning

Preposition

1. Until; up to the time of.
2. (chiefly Scottish) To.

Conjunction

1. Until; up to the time that.

till² cultivate

Etymology

The verb is inherited from Middle English tilen,^[1][2] inherited from Old English tilian (“to strive after, work at, tend”),^[4][1][5] from Proto-Germanic *tilōjaną,^[4][5] from the noun behind till¹, meaning “aim, goal”.^[4][5] It is cognate with Old Frisian tilia “to get, cultivate”, Dutch telen “to breed, cultivate” and German zielen “to aim, strive”.^[4][1] Old English til “good, suitable” is related.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

To strive, exert oneself, labour: about 897.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The Old English verb meant “to strive after, aim at”, then “to work at, get by labour”, and in late Old English “to cultivate”.^[4][5] Cultivating land is recorded in 1137, in the Peterborough Chronicle,^[1] or the early 13th century in Etymonline,^[4] and “to plough” from the late 14th century.^[4] Etymonline compares Old Norse yrkja “to work; to cultivate” and Old Church Slavonic dělati “to work, cultivate”.^[4] In Somerset, Devon and Cornwall dialect till meant “to sow, plant”.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 897 – to strive, labour.^[7]
• 1137 – to cultivate land.^[1]
• late 14th century – to plough; figurative use.^[4]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To prepare land for crops by ploughing and harrowing; to cultivate.

Word family

• tillable
• tillage
• tiller

till³ money drawer

Etymology

The drawer is of obscure origin.^[4][9] It is perhaps borrowed from Anglo-Norman tylle (“compartment”),^[1][2][4] Old French tille “compartment or shelter on a ship”, which is probably from Old Norse þilja (“plank, floorboard”),^[1][4] from Proto-Germanic *þeljōn.^[1][4] Another theory derives it from Middle English tillen “to draw”.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A small box, casket or compartment inside a larger chest: 1452,^[7] the mid-15th century in Etymonline.^[4]

Semantic evolution

A drawer or box for money under a shop counter is from 1698,^[7] the 1690s in Etymonline.^[4] In Northamptonshire dialect till meant “money”.^[8]

Timeline

• 1452 – a box or compartment.^[7]
• 1698 – a shop's money drawer.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A drawer or tray for money in a shop or bank; a cash register.

Related words

• until
• unto

Usage notes

A fourth till, of unknown origin, is a stiff clay, especially the boulder clay of glaciers, recorded from 1765.^[7][9][6] Till is not a shortening of until: it is the older word, and until is formed from it.^[4][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
2. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
9. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press